1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a container gripper, in particular for bottles or the like.
2. Discussion of the Background
In the packaging industry, and in particular in the filling of bottles or similar containers, a series of operations is required before filling them with the product.
Typically the container to be used must be washed, rinsed and finally sterilized. For these operations the containers, such as bottles, are manipulated by a suitable conveyor which grips them, inverts them, and positions them in proximity with the stations dedicated to the various aforestated operations.
This conveyor, for example in the form of a carousel, comprises for this purpose a plurality of gripping elements which act on the container. In particular in the case of bottles, the gripping elements become positioned about the bottle neck or about a part of small cross-section, and must be movable. In this respect, these gripping elements must be able to assume a position in which the container faces upwards (for gripping, washing and depositing) and a position in which the container faces downwards (for rinsing and sterilizing). The gripping elements used are similar to grippers comprising a pair of arms or jaws openable and closable by suitable means.
The arms of these known grippers are operated by suitable levers which act on cams and are made to assume a preselected position by interposed elastic elements.
The elastic elements are usually intended to securely close the gripper arms about the container neck. A considerable force has consequently to be applied in opening them and securely maintaining them in that position, often resulting in breakage or poor operation.
Some of these grippers are provided with pads located in the region of direct contact with the container in order to minimize or nullify the danger of its breaking. These pads have however the drawback of having to be changed to adapt to the size of the container or of its gripping region.